Textile materials and their preparation



Patented Mar. 14, 1939 'T X'TILE 'tion of Delaware Y v No Dra'wingi.Application June 23, 19ss. V Serial No. 86,825 I I 11 Claims. 1 Thisinvention relates to the treatment or prep aration of staple fiberswhich are more suitable for spinning or other ,textile operations thanthose heretofore produced. v

An object of theinvention isthe preparation of anti-static staplefibers, especially those made from or containing organic derivatives ofcellu-.

lose. Another object of the invention is the treatment and preparationof staple fibers, made from or containing organic derivatives ,ofcellulose,- with an anti-static finish wherein the coeflicient, offriction of the resulting fibers may be con trolled, thus permitting theregulation of the drafting of such fibers in spinning operations.

A further object of the invention is the pr epara-. tion of yarns orfiberswith an anti static finish which scours readily from the samejnhard or, soft water and which does notaffect theluster or dyeingproperties of the yarns or fibers. Other objects of the inventionwill-appear from the following description. The formation of spun, yarnfrom comparatively short lengths or ,staples .of, filaments or threadscomposed of organicderivativesof cellulose present serious difficulty.This is .due to the fact that such organic derivatives of cellulose havea very high di-electric constant and are very poor conductors ofelectricity, and when the filaments are rubbedtogether or againstmachine parts during the various operations involved in mixing, carding,drawing, combing, spinning and like operations, a heavy charge of staticelectricity is produced. Because of the static, electrical charge, thestaple fibers containing organic derivatives of cellulose do not adhereto each. other readily, tend to adhere to machine parts and cause greatdifficulty in the textileoperations.

I have found thatif a mixture of an, electrolyte. such as the soaps orsalts of amines, a lubricant 0 and a lubricating aid, such as asulphonated fatty alcohol, is applied to or incorporated with staplefibers containing organic derivatives of cellulose, the tendency togenerate static electricity during textile operations is -greatlyreduced. .Moreover,

5 I have found that if such mixture is applied to or incorporated withcontinuous lengths of artificial filaments, especially those made bythedry or evaporative method of spinning, the great difficulty encounteredin winding, drafting, etc.,

i l and cutting such filaments to uniform staple lengths is overcome.

For a number of years, solutions of electrolytes in aqueous andnon-aqueous solvents have been used as a finish for staple fibers. 7Although some of these finishes are excellent anti-static finishes,

they usually impart sc'roopiness and resistance to carding and draftingof thefibers to'yarn. Moreover, some finishes are corrosive,particularly if applied in amounts over 1% on the weight of the fiber.In textile opera tionsrequiring carde ing by the woolen, worsted, cutsilk or cotton method 'of, forming slivers, rovings, and yarn, it isvery essential that the coefficient of'fri'ction (i. e. the ease withwhich the fibers slip over each other) of the fiber be controlledinorderthat a good drafting ma 'be. hadfland in' order that yarns of. finesizemay be formedffrom said rovings. 'By employing the mixture o"ern'lllsion of electrolytein accordance with my invention, thecoefficient of friction of the'prepared fibersmay be controlled suchthat in either the cotton method, the woolen method or other method orforming j'jyarns'fan excellent draftingis'att'ained. The finish Producesa lubrication [of the fiberssuffic'ient to allow the'fibersito slip overone another in drafting operations, permittingith'e' formation of yarnsof '30'count or finer measured by the cotton methodof measuring yarn.

fA further advantage of my inventionis that the mixture or emulsionofelectrolyte may be applied to fibers consisting of airriixture'of'flwoolen or other animal fibers and staple length'fibers of organicderivativesvoficellulose. Th'e emulsion prepared in, accordance, with myinvention has no deleterious effects upon wool, cotton or silk and doesnot interfere with textile operations to which the material issubjected. It'may, therefore, be applied to mixtures of organicderivatives of cellulose, Wool and/or cotton; or. it may beappliedtostaple. fibers of organic derivatives of,cellulose which, are to be'mixed .'.with wool and/or cotton. The sulphonatedifatty alcoholderivatives have a high softening powerand they lend'to vtheffinish theadvantage of scouring in hard water,v which advantage is, of particularsignificancewhen the organic derivative of cellulose threads are to beblended with wool and'slub jected .to contact with lime soaps.

In accordance with my inventionfI treat or prepare staple fibers with amixture or an emulsion containing an electrolyte such as amine soaps orsalts of a sulphonated fatty alcohol .or. the fatty acids, a lubricantand a sulphonate'd'compound of the fatty alcohol type that, acts as anagent instabilizing the mixture or emulsion, and

which acts as a finish for the mixture and asoftener forthe artificialfibers. By the term sulphonated fatty alcohol is meant the fattyalcohols that contain either or both the H803 and/or the sol groups..Sulphonated fatty alcohols, therefore, include the sulphonic acidderivative and the sulphate of the fatty alcohol. The sulphonatedcompound of the fatty alcohol type also acts as an agentv eifectingthepenetration and uniform covering of the fibers by the mixture oremulsion and for affecting the appearance of the mixture or emulsion inor on the fibers. The lubricant in the emulsion may consist of a mineraloil, vegetable oil, or a part or all of the oil may be replaced by asulphonated vegetable oil. The mixture or emulsion of electrolyte andlubricant may be incorporated in relatively continuous lengths ofartificial filaments in any suitable manner and the continuous lengthsmay then be cut into staple fibers, or else the staple fibers themselvesmaybe treated with the mixture or emulsion of the electrolyte eitherduring or after cutting, or beforeany spinning operation, or at anysuitable intermediate stage of the spinning operation, or the mixture oremulsion may be applied to the roving, silver or yarn formed in thefibers. I

While this invention is of general application and is applicable to thetreatment of natural fibers such as cotton or wool or staples cut fromnatural silk or yarns or filaments made of recon j 5 The mineral oilemployed in forming the emulsion may be any suitable mineral oil,preferably one which is light in color. The mineral oil also ispreferably completely saturated. The amount of mineral oil employed aswell as viscosity of same will depend to a great extent upon the type offiber employed and the operation to which the fiber is subjected. Forgeneral use in carding, drafting and spinning operations by either the Ioil, there may be substituteda sulphonated vegestituted cellulose (suchas may be made by the" viscose, cuprammonium or nitrate method), it isof particular importance in connection with staple fibers made oforganic derivatives of cellulose such as organic esters of cellulose andcellulose ethers. Examples of organic derivatives of cellulose arecellulose acetate, cellulose formate, cellulose propionate' andcellulose butyrate, while examples of cellulose ethers are ethylcellulose, methyl cellulose and benzyl cellulose. Therefore, thisinvention will be described more particularly in connection with thepreparation or treatment of staple fibers made of cellulose acetate orother organic derivatives of cellulose.

The artificial filaments. of organic derivatives of cellulose may beformed from solutions of the same in suitable solvents by extruding saidsolutions through orifices into a dry or evaporative atmosphere as indry spinning or by extrusion through orifices into a bath containing aprecipitating liquid as in wet spinning. Such filaments may be treatedwhile in the untwisted state by my process, or two or more of suchfilaments may be associated together by twisting, to form yarns orthreads, which yarns or threads may be treated with my process. Themixture or emulsion with which I treat or prepare'yarns or fibers maycontain from 300 to 350 parts by weight of mineral oil, vegetable oil orsulphonated vegetable oil, or a mixture of these, 20 to 60 parts byweight of a sulphonated fatty alcohol or a salt thereof, whichsulphonated fatty alcohol may contain traces of unsulphonated fattyalcohol and from '75 to 125 parts by weight of a fatty acid soap of anamine. The sulphonated oils and sulphonated fatty alcohol compounds, inthemselves, are anti-static and a mixture of these with the fatty acidsoaps of amine would be expected to provide a good anti-static. However,I have discovered that the mixture of these compounds produces a betteranti-static finish than either of the compounds separately. Furthermore,the mixture provides a lubricating quality to the yarn and a softeningof the fiber which produces fibers having a desirable coefficient offriction for the process.

A further advantage of my invention is that the anti-static qualitiesare maintained even in cool and dry atmospheres.

table oil such as sulphonated olive oil, sulphonated castor oil and thelike.

The lubricant aid, generally referred to as a sulphonated fatty alcohol,or a salt thereof, may be the sulphonated product of any suitable alco-"hol, for instance, lauryl, oleyl, stearyl, palmetyl,

etc., which sulphonated product contains either or both the sulphonic orsulphate groups. The sulphonated fatty alcohol may contain from a traceto as high as 5% to 10% or more, based on the weight of the sulphonatedfatty alcohol, of the free or unsulphonated alcohol. The sulphonatedfatty alcohols may be used in the form of their sodium, potassium oramine salts. For instance, the triethanolamine salt of the sulphonatedfatty alcohol is found to be exceptionally suited for forming theanti-static finish. In-

place of employing as a basic material the salt of the sulphonated fattyalcohol, the salt may-be formed in the emulsion by adding the base topounds or a'mixture of same, as well as such compounds that contain froma trace to 10% or more of the unsulphonated fatty alcohol. When itisdesirable to form a free flowing anti-static finish suitable for usewithout the application of heat or agitation, it is preferable to employthe sulphonated fatty alcohol or salt of the lower molecular weightfatty acids such as oleyl alcohol.

While any suitable organic electrolyte may be employed, I prefer toemploy the hygroscopic organic electrolyte, examples of which are mono-,di-, tri-ethanolamine soaps of fatty acids, the methylamine, amylamine,"etc. soaps of the fatty acids and like amine soaps. The acid part ofthe soap may be any suitable fatty acid such as oleic, palmetic,stearic, lauric. I have also found that triethanolamine is ofexceptional value in mixtures containing the sulphonated oleyl or laurylalcohol. It is not necessary to use pre-formed soaps of amines as thesame may be formed in the mixture 'or emulsion by adding separately thefatty acid and the amine. The mixture oremulsion of lubricant,electrolyte and aids may be emusified to any suitable'concentration ofviscosity by the addition of water. The mixture or emulsion of lubricantcan also be applied by warming or heating the mixture if the viscosityof the same warrants it. Where the mixture is 40' the emulsion in anamount sufllcient toneutral- 3 By the term sulphonated.

' desirable method is to'apply the electrolyte emulsion to theartificial silk immediately "after the emulsified with water,- theamount of water employed will depend upon'the nature-of applica tion tothe yarn gr'fiber' and of the textile operation to which the fiber willbe subjected.

The amount of the individual compounds present in the mixtureor-emulsion and the amount of the same applied will vary inaccordance-.With the nature of the electrolyte, the lubricant, thenature of the staple fibers and the results to be obtained. Generally,for the cutting and spinning byeith'erthecotton or woolen method offorming yarns, the amount of the individual compounds will .be presentin" about -thoseproportions specified in the example hereinafter given.

The amount of such mixture applied to or incorporated in the fibers willbe from 1% to '10'% based on the weight of the fibers; ofthe'substantially water-free emulsion. When the emulsion contains waterallowance should be made in theapplication of the same to the fibers sothat upon the'evaporation of the water in equilibriumwith the atmospherethe desired amount of finish will remain on the fiber. Excellent resultshave been obtained by the application of. from 1%-t0 3% based on theweight of the fibers of the mixture;

The filaments or yarnsmay be'treated-with the emulsions of theelectrolyte while they are still in the comparatively continuous lengthsin which they are formed. Conveniently the emulsion of electrolyte maybe applied by means of wicks, rollers or other furnishing devices to theyarn or filaments while they are'in' transit.= A

artificial silk leaves the spinning cabinet in which it is formed, whileon the way to a cutting device which cuts it into staple fibers; Ifdesired, the relatively continuous lengths may be treated in the form ofhanks or othersuitable packages prior to being cut into staple-or chappeof suitable length. Instead of treating'the filaments after theirformation with the emulsion of electrolyte, such emulsions may be addedto or incorporated in the spinning solution in which said filaments areformed, whereby filaments containing such emulsions are formed directly.The artificial filaments may be formed and if desired lubricated at themetier with any suitable lubricant, then either before or aftercuttingthey may be washed in a bath containing a little soap or otherscouring agent and then have a finish.

containing the anti-static material appliedthereto. The washingtreatment removes any lubricant that may be present but-also removesresidual solvent and adds a slight curl to the fiber.

Alternatively staple fibers, either natural, such as cotton, wool, orthose formed by the cutting of continuous lengths of natural silk orartificial filaments may be treated with the emulsion of electrolyte. Inthis case the staple fibers may be placed in bags which are immersed inthe bath of the emulsion and which, for convenience, may be tied inbundles prior to immersion in the bath. The treatment of the staplefibers may also be made during the intermediate stage of the spinningoperation, such asimmediately after lapping, carding, drawing, orslubbing. A preferred means of applying the emulsion to staple fiberscut from substantially continuous lengths of filaments containingorganic derivatives of cellulose is to spray the emulsion upon the cutfibers as they leave the cutting. knives and are blown into a. storagespace. A still further method of applying the emulsion to fibers isduring a mixing or picking operation in which case the emulsion isblown, in an atomized form, or sprinkled upon the fibers as they leavethe mixer or picker.

long time in the wool method wherein a layer of the fiber is laid uponan oiling floor and the same sprinkled by hand or otherwise with theemulsion and then .a further layer laid down and this sprinkled andsoon. 1 In the latter method it is preferable to first subject theartificial fibers to a washing or scouring treatment in an aqueous bathcontainingforinstance from 1 to 10 grams per litre, of soap or otherscouring agent.

As to the length of the staple fiber,-lengths ranging from or more than10'inches are suitable. The artificial filaments may be of any suitableweight per unit length, say from 1 to 30 or more denier, examples ofwhich are 1.9, 2.5, 3, or 5 denier or more.

After treatment with an emulsion of electrolyte, the short" lengths offilaments or fibers are then subjected to asuitable spinning operation,such ments or fibers in the form required for the actual operation oftwisting them. into yarn. This may include carding, lapping, mixing,spinning, opening. up, etc.

-In order to further illustrate my invention without} being limitedthereby; the following specific examples are given: v l

Example I A mixture is made by mixing together 312 parts by weight ofmineral oil of 50 second viscosity (Saybolt at 100 F. ),'28 parts byweight of a sulphonated fatty alcohol, 60 parts by weight of 'a fattyacid (oleic acid) and 29' parts by weight triethanolamine. Theseingredients are-mixed until a'substantially clear'mixture is obtained.Staple fibers, during thecutting operation, are sprayed with'this"mixturein such an amount thatfrom 1% to 3% on the weight of the fibersof the mixture-is applied thereto. 'Ihestaple fibers are found tobeanti-static, softened and.

lubricated su'fliciently to pass throughall the textile operationswithout deleterious effects and be formed by the woolen method of makingyarns into a yarn of a finer size than 25 count, by the cotton method ofmeasuring yarns. The mixture is readily scourable in hard or soft waterfrom the yarns.

Example II amount of triethanolamine is added to neutralize anydeveloped acidity. The staple fibers re sprayed with this mixture insuch an amount t at from 1% to 3% on the weight of the fibers of themixture is applied thereto. The staple fibers are found to beanti-static, softened and lubricated sufiiciently to pass through allthe textile operations without deleterious effects and be formed by thewoolen method of making yarns into a yarn of a finer size than 25 count,by the cotton method on the weight of the mixture, of an organichygroscopic agent, which agent is a softening agent; for organicderivatives of cellulose. These agents may be the glycols and/ or theirethers.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is givenmerelyby way of illustration and that many variations may be madetherein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my'invention, what I desire to secure byLetters'Pate'nt is:

1. In a method of forming spun yarns containing short lengths of fibersof an organic derivative of cellulose, thesteps of incorporatingtherewith before the drafting operation a mixture of an organicelectrolyte comprising a fatty acid soap of-an amine, a lubricant and asulphonated fatty alcohol compound and then spinning the treated fibersinto a yarn.

2. In a method of forming spun yarns containing short lengths of fibersof cellulose acetate, the steps of incorporating therewith before thedrafting operation a mixture of an organic electrolyte comprising afatty acid soapof an amine, a lubricant and a sulphonated fatty alcoholcompound and then spinning the treated fibers into a yarn.

3. In a method of forming spun yarns containing short lengths of fibersof an organic derivative of cellulose, the steps of incorporatingtherewith before the drafting operation a mixture comprising an organicelectrolyte, a lubricant and a sulphonated fatty alcohol compound andthen spinning the treated fibers into a yarn.

4. In a method of forming spun yarns containing short lengths of fibersof cellulose ace- "tate, the steps of incorporating therewith before thedrafting operation a mixture'Vcomprising-an organic electrolyte, alubricant and a sulphonated fatty alcohol compound and then spinning thetreated fibers into a yarn.

5.; Ina method of forming spun yarns containing short lengths of fibersof an organic derivative of cellulose, the steps of incorporatingtherewith before the drafting operation a mixture comprising an organicelectrolyte, a lubricant comprising one or a mixture of the compoundsselected from the group consisting of mineral oil,

vegetable oil and a sulphonated vegetable oil, and a sulphonated fattyalcohol compound and then spinning the treated fibers into a yarn.

to 20% I 2,130,569 The mixture readilyv 6. In a method of forming-"spunyarns containing. short lengths of tate, thasteps of incorporatingtherewith before the-drafting. operatic I, r mixture comprising anorganic electro yt bricant comprising one or a mixtureo the compoundsselected from the groupconsisting of mineral oil, vegetable oil and asiiiphonated vegetable oil and a sulphonated fatty alcohol compound andthen spinning the treated fibers into a yarn.

'7. In a method of forming spun yarns containing short lengths of fibersof cellulose acetate, the steps of incorporating with the fibers beforethe drafting operation a mixture comprising from 300 to,350 parts byweight of a lubricant, from to parts by weight of an organic electrolyteand from 20 to 60 parts by weight of a sulphonated' fatty alcoholcompound and then spinning the treated fibers into a yarn.

8. In a method of forming spun yarns containing short lengths of fibersof organic derivatives of cellulose, the steps of incorporatingtherewith before the drafting operation a mixture comprising an organicelectrolyte, a lubricant, a sulphonated fatty alcohol compound and anorgafiic hygroscopic material and then spinning the treated fibers intoa yarn.

9. In a method of forming spun yarns containing short lengths of ,fibersof cellulose acetate, the steps of incorporating therewith before thedrafting operation a mixture comprising an organic electrolyte, alubricant, a sulphonated fatty fibers of cellulose acealcohol compoundand an organic hygroscopic material and then spinning the treated fibersinto a yarn.

10. In a method of forming spun yarns containing short lengths of fibersof organic derivatives of cellulose, the steps of incorporating in saidfibers before the drafting operation a mixture comprising an organicelectrolyte, a lubricant and a sulphonated fatty alcohol compound, saidstep of incorporation of the mixture with the fibers being performedwhile the mixture is at an elevated temperature and then spinning thetreated fibers into a yarn. Y

11. In a method of forming spun yarns containing short lengths of fibersof cellulose acetate, the steps of incorporating in said fibers beforethe drafting operation a mixture comprising an organic electrolyte, alubricant and a sulphonated fatty alcohol compound, said step ofincorporation of the mixture with the fibers being performed while themixture is at an elevated temperature and then spinning the treatedfibers into a yarn.

' WILLIAM WHITEHEAD.

